Trump Announces 10-Year Plan To ‘Eliminate’ HIV/AIDS Epidemic In US

President Donald Trump shared his administration’s plan “to defeat AIDS in America and beyond” during his State of the Union speech Tuesday.

“No force in history has done more to advance the human condition than American freedom. In recent years we have made remarkable progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Scientific breakthroughs have brought a once-distant dream within reach,” Trump said. “My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years. We have made incredible strides, incredible.”

Because of modern medicine, an HIV/AIDS diagnosis is no longer a death sentence, but the epidemic still affects roughly 40,000 new patients each year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.

“Ending the AIDS epidemic in America? It’s possible. I think it could be done in the next three to seven years, if we put our mind to it,” Redfield said at a CDC staff meeting on his second day at the agency in 2018, reported STAT News.

(L-R) William Haseltine and honoree Dr. Robert Redfield speak during the Aid for AIDS “My Hero Gala” 2013 at Three Sixty on November 5, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Aid for Aids)

Presidents often use State of the Union addresses to push for public health goals. Then-President Barack Obama announced an initiative to “cure cancer” in his 2016 State of the Union address, reported Time.

HIV+ patient Aaron Laxton (Center R) of St. Louis, Missouri, and other activists participate in a march from the Washington Convention Center to the White House July 24, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The scientific community quickly reacted to Trump’s announcement. Benjamin Corb, director of public affairs for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, issued the following statement Tuesday evening:

In tonight’s State of the Union Address, President Donald Trump announced an ambitious goal to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS by the year 2030. We applaud the President for such an ambitious plan, and look forward to seeing his detailed plans to make this a reality. The nation’s biomedical research community – much of which is supported by federal investments at the National Institute’s for Health – is positioned to help make this goal a reality.

What remains to be seen, however, is if this is a plan and commitment to make a difference to a community of patients in need, or just another hollow promise from an administration that has not been a friend to science.

Trump faced criticism for looking into cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), but he extended the program in December 2018.

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